019 The Shapeshifter!

The guards at the Shapeshifter Troll stronghold were extremely vigilant. Dawn Breeze hid in a corner, observing their patrol patterns, searching for a blind spot in their line of sight to slip into the adjacent room. Yet, after five whole minutes, he still hadn’t found a way through. This time, Dawn Breeze had no choice but to take a risk. Anyway, if killed by monsters, no items would be dropped, and once he logged in again, he’d be as good as new.

Dawn Breeze benefited from a stealth effect granted by Lure, though it was quite feeble. However, with the hidden bonus of his Night Bat Cloak, the effect was significantly enhanced. Coupled with the shroud of the cloak itself, his ability to sneak in the darkness was decent. That said, this stealth only worked as long as the Shapeshifter Trolls weren’t directly watching him; if he moved within their line of sight, the cloak’s concealment would fail immediately.

After the patrol passed, Dawn Breeze crept forward. When he reached a barrel, he stopped, keeping the cloak between himself and the sentries. A troll on the lookout tower glanced over but failed to spot him and soon turned away. Dawn Breeze carefully moved to the next corner, pausing again until the patrolling soldier walked past, then slipped forward.

The trolls lived in wooden huts, none of which had doors, since patrols circled the area constantly. There were no guards right by the entrances, so Dawn Breeze quietly sneaked into the largest hut. To his surprise, the hall was empty. Usually, whenever he entered a room in the stronghold, there would be hostile NPCs present, but not this time.

Without hesitation, he hurried to the large round table in the center of the room and opened a black wooden box atop it. Inside was a black pearl. Without giving it much thought, he pocketed the pearl and shut the box.

He proceeded to the study, where he found three scrolls. Without hesitation, he scooped them up. This was a huge haul—no NPCs in the main hut of the Shapeshifter Troll stronghold—it was a complete windfall. Heading next to the bedroom, he noticed one wall was pressed up against the mountain, with an entrance two people high carved into it.

What could be inside?

Dawn Breeze crept in cautiously, advancing about fifty meters before entering a stone chamber the size of a basketball court. Inside lay the corpses of various beasts—bears, seals, leopards, eagles, ravens, treants, and more.

“Nothing here?” Dawn Breeze had expected some unique legendary gear to be hidden, but after searching the room, he found nothing. In the end, he simply used his Hearthstone to teleport back to town.

He was fortunate—his Hearthstone cast quickly, and just as he teleported away, he heard someone sprinting into the stone chamber. Back in the main city, Dawn Breeze checked the scrolls he’d acquired: a Lesser Life Recovery Potion Scroll, a Lesser Mana Recovery Potion Scroll, and a Lesser Speed Potion Scroll!

A Lesser Life Recovery Potion could restore 1,000 hit points with a two-minute cooldown, making it a lifesaver. Only the NPC military zone had these; players could obtain them by completing military quests, and occasionally, they could be found in treasure chests or dropped by monsters in the wild. Each potion fetched as much as four gold coins. That was acceptable, but Lesser Mana Recovery Potions were even rarer, each worth eight gold. Many players lamented that they weren’t drinking potions, but rather, drinking gold.

“If I’d known, I’d have picked Alchemy as my secondary profession!” Dawn Breeze had chosen Mining and Smithing, hoping to master smithing and craft his own weapons. If he’d had these three scrolls earlier, he would have gone for Alchemy without hesitation, but once a secondary profession was chosen, it couldn’t be changed.

He recalled that Zhang Xinting had chosen Alchemy as her secondary, but he wasn’t sure if she could actually craft potions. It wasn’t just a matter of having the materials; you needed to know the recipe, and without specialized study, failure was almost certain. Dawn Breeze decided not to waste the scrolls—best to store them for now and see if he could find a player with expertise in this area.

Power of the Shapeshifter: Hidden profession item. Refine to permanently change class to the hidden profession “Shapeshifter.” Race requirement: Elf, Barbarian.

“Shapeshifter?” Dawn Breeze had never heard of this hidden profession, nor had he expected to stumble upon such a thing while infiltrating the Shapeshifter Troll stronghold. He could change to the hidden profession immediately, but that would mean losing his dual specialization, and he was absolutely unwilling to give up being a warrior.

Barbarian?

He remembered that when he opened the talent chest, he’d found an “Incarnation of the Barbarian Handbook,” an item that would grant him a Barbarian avatar, sharing his main character’s level and warehouse inventory. Race avatar scrolls like these were incredibly rare, and since the game only allowed one character per player, unless you had such a scroll, it was impossible to have an alternate account. He’d never considered which profession to use the avatar for, but now that he had this hidden profession item, he decided to put it to use.

Retrieving the avatar scroll from his warehouse, he used it immediately and was taken to the character creation screen. He could only choose Barbarian, but the profession was still up to him. He selected Warrior, then logged into the game once more. He found himself standing in front of the warehouse, his level matching his main character at sixteen. He took out the black pearl and refined it to see what the hidden profession was like.

System: You have changed class to the hidden profession “Shapeshifter,” and have learned all Shapeshifter skills.

The advantage of hidden professions was that you instantly acquired all relevant skills, unlike ordinary professions which required you to find skill books. Dawn Breeze browsed through the skill list and was stunned—this was a truly unique profession.

Human Form: In this form, you may shift into other forms.

Dire Bear Form: Shape skill. Transform into a dire bear, withstanding enemy assaults. In this form, your defense increases by 200%, maximum health by 30%, and you gain +12% resistance to physical critical hits.

Feral Panther Form: Shape skill. Transform into a humanoid panther, tearing apart any enemy before you. In this form, normal attack damage is increased by 100%, movement speed by 30%, and you gain a high-speed leap ability.

Tree of Life Form: Shape skill. Transform into a Tree of Life, restoring health to your allies. In this form, defense increases by 100%, healing effects by 40%, but movement speed decreases by 30%.

Seal Form: Shape skill. Transform into a seal to swim effortlessly underwater. In this form, swimming speed increases by 300%, and you can breathe underwater. If attacked, you revert to human form.

Raven Form: Shape skill. Transform into a raven to soar through the skies. In this form, flight speed increases by 300%. If attacked, you revert to human form.

The human form was the default state, from which you could shift into five different forms—three for combat, two for support. Dire Bear was the tank form, capable of using tanking skills; Feral Panther was for damage, boasting explosive power; Tree of Life was for healing. Dawn Breeze couldn’t help but marvel at this hidden profession—it combined tanking, damage, and healing, and with the seal and raven forms, questing would be a breeze.

The Shapeshifter could wear leather armor, which meant lower defense, but in Dire Bear form, defense skyrocketed, nearly rivaling shield warriors and paladins. He still had plenty of gear in his warehouse and picked out an exquisite set. Once equipped, his attributes improved significantly, though in human form, his stats were still weaker than those of other professions.

As for weapon selection, Dawn Breeze experimented and discovered that any weapon equipped would transform into bound claw weapons with similar attributes. This made finding weapons for the hidden profession a simple matter—any weapon could be converted. However, he also found that white-quality equipment he had crafted himself could not be transformed, indicating that player-made gear was not compatible.

He found a secluded spot to test the various forms. The raven form was the most exhilarating, allowing him to fly rapidly through the air—perfect for future raids on enemy strongholds.

“Xiaoxue, do you know who I am?” Dawn Breeze’s Barbarian avatar was named “King of the Jungle.” After adding Cheng Xue as a friend, he messaged her.

“Dawn Breeze?” Cheng Xue was astonished. There weren’t many who called her Xiaoxue; among male players, it was likely only Dawn Breeze. But his main was an Elf Berserker, while this character was a Barbarian Shapeshifter—obviously different. She knew the game didn’t allow alternate characters, so how could he have two?

“I got an Avatar Scroll, which gave me a Barbarian avatar. Earlier, while raiding a Horde stronghold, I picked up a hidden profession item, so I used it here,” Dawn Breeze explained, sparing her the need to ask.

“Raiding a Horde stronghold? That’s so dangerous—almost certain death…” Cheng Xue found it hard to believe. At this stage, players usually ran for their lives from Horde patrols.

“Haha, Xiaoxue, soon plenty of players will do the same. Close to midnight, they’ll rush the strongholds, hoping for rare loot—after all, you can just relog after midnight.” Dawn Breeze knew this secret would be out soon, so he didn’t mind telling her in advance.

“You’re right—I should’ve thought of that,” Cheng Xue realized after a moment.

“Try it tomorrow night, but don’t let too many people know for now. Just now, Xiaoting invited me to a Heroic dungeon, so I’ll head over!” With that, Dawn Breeze switched back to his Warrior character. He had to admit, the Shapeshifter profession was incredible—if he weren’t so skilled with Warrior, he’d be tempted to main his avatar.

Using the Teleport Banner, he headed to the Land of Chaos, then hurried toward the Withered Treant dungeon. Now, they were only waiting for him!